Today at lunch I thought I’d better have something yummier than what I had yesterday. Yesterday’s lunch consisted in a few crackers with almond butter, an apple, and little else. It left me feeling deeply unsatisfied, not to mention shamed by my own laziness.
the raw materials
Before we start cooking, I have a confession to make; I really like instant ramen. There, I said it. It’s full of MSG and bad fats, it sort of makes my stomach hurt, and has no vitamins or nutrients to speak of, but alas, I like it anyway. I have a problem, and I’m trying to stop.
Which is where my ramen-esques come in. Are you familiar with Romanesque architecture? Do you remember it, from Art History class? It was like Roman architecture, only different. Romanesque. Well, ramen-esque noodle soups are like that. They are sort of like ramen, only different. They do not contain fried noodles, they do not contain MSG, and they do contain vegetables and other things that encourage one’s body to function the way it ought.
cooked soba noodles, waiting for veggies and soup!
So, I make ramen-esque noodle soups to assuage the packaged noodle-loving beast in me. They are tasty, filling, and they conveniently use up whatever bits of vegetables and other leftovers you happen to have lying around. I often use soba noodles, ginger and shallots, and tofu or leftover fish or meat, but the possibilities are limitless. The key is in having a broth that has enough flavour to unify the rest of the ingredients, which brings us to the matter of umami. If you don’t have that essential savoury aspect, it won’t taste very good, no matter how much shoyu, miso, salt or whatever else you might dump into it.
To make a simple, savoury broth in minutes, Japanese dashi is the way to go. You just need water, dried kombu and maybe a few dried shiitake mushrooms, and bonito flakes if you aren’t vegan. Today I just used 2c. of water, a small (3cmx5cm dried) piece of kombu (kelp), and half a cup of flaked bonito. Put the water and kombu into a pot, and let it soak for about half an hour, while you cut up your veggies and other ingredients. Then, turn the burner to medium, and let the water with the kombu in it heat up. When it is just on the verge of boiling, remove the kombu and add the bonito flakes to the water. Allow the bonito flakes to steep in the water for about 5 mins, then strain them out. You now have dashi!
In today’s noodle soup I used: shallots, minced ginger, thinly sliced kombu (left from making dashi stock), wakame, konnyaku (devil’s tongue jelly–it’s filling, almost calorie-free, and I like the texture) sunflower sprouts, 1/3 of a sliced avocado (which I love in hot soup), and a few flower-shaped daikon and carrot pickles, which were mostly for colour.
I cooked one bundle of dried soba noodles, then put them into a bowl and set it aside. I cut all the vegetables and the konnyaku beforehand, and set those aside. We’ve already made the dashi, but to give it some extra oomph I added a tablespoon of shoyu, a teaspoon or so of mirin, and a few drops of toasted sesame oil.
Miso or doenjang (Korean-style soybean paste) are equally good in the broth, and I really like it with kimchi, too. The slightly sour and spicy taste of the kimchi is delicious in soup, and it is a good way to use up kimchi that has gone a little too sour for your tastes. Plus, kimchi adds beneficial probiotics, B-vitamins, and fiber along with all of it’s taste-related benefits.
A well-assembled ramen-esque noodle soup can nip a ramen craving right in the bud, I find. If you include enough nutritious things and make a broth that suits your tastes, you may never want to eat a package of instant-anything again! Of course, a package of ramen (I like Neoguri or Kalguksu by Shin Ramyun) once in a while isn’t the end of the world. When a down-and-dirty bowl of ramen is the only thing that will do, I change the water after cooking the noodles (to reduce the oil), use only half the soup flavouring packet, and still add as many vegetables as I can. I said I’m trying.
Now that fall is in full-swing, I prefer hot or warm foods most days, and am really enjoying many different types of soup. What do you like to make for an easy fall lunch?
Love,
Meg
Tags: autumn, Japanese, Korean, noodles, ramenesque
[...] dinner by myself is more of an occasion. I’ll often have something warm and comforting like noodle soup or ramen, or might make brown rice and vegetables if I’m feeling more ambitious. I remember having [...]